Invited to spend a few days in the south of France at the initiative of the association “Les liseurs de Provence”, based in Vitrolles and which works to promote the French language, the former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom took advantage of his stay to meet hundreds of young basketball players from the Venelles Basket Club et La Ciotat Sport Basket.
Two sessions lasting a good three hours were organized, an entertaining 90-minute training course led alongside supervisors from the two clubs, a question-and-answer session and a big session of signings and selfies to conclude, all in great simplicity.
A little over two years ago, at just 30 years old, Enes Kanter Freedom, who played through Utah, OKC, New York, Portland and Boston, played his 807th and final NBA game. After denouncing the exploitation of the Asian population by sports equipment manufacturers, and following his positions vis-à-vis the Chinese government on the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and even the Uighurs, the former pivot of Jazz s is put in an undesirable position.
Undesirable in the NBA, persona non grata in Türkiye
Traded to Houston by Boston in February 2022, the Turk, not essential sportingly, was then cut immediately, and was therefore able to fully engage in his new fights, as a human rights activist. Even if he was also noted for controversial outings on transgender athletes, his support for Elon Musk and his provocations off the mark, his accomplishments and his career have nevertheless earned him numerous distinctions since.
In 2022, he notably received the courage prize at the Geneva summit for Human Rights and Democracy, the Vaclav-Havel human rights prize, awarded by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe , and was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Convinced of having made the right choice by getting closer to the “voiceless” to support them in their struggle, while continuing to transmit basketball to the youngest, Enes Kanter Freedom returns for Basket USA on this new life and its new challenges.
Enes, it’s now been two years since you left the NBA. How do you view your career over these two years?
First of all, I had an amazing time in the NBA. Unfortunately, it had to end, because of the topics I mentioned. For me, I look at these last two years as a great privilege, because I have been able to travel the whole world, meeting leaders, prime ministers, presidents, to talk about human rights violations on the planet. It was an incredibly blessed time for me. I try to carry the voice of all those people on earth who are deprived.
Adam Silver said right up until the end that you have the right to free speech. What is your relationship with the NBA today?
Unfortunately, there is no contact, because the NBA is a little afraid to discuss with me, even to have the beginning of a discussion. They probably know that the moment they begin a project with me, it could put them in great difficulty. Unfortunately, the NBA is a little afraid of the Chinese government. That’s why there is no relationship between them and me at the moment. So no contact, even if for my part I still watch the NBA, or rather I follow my former teammates. And it’s pretty cool to see that my old team from Boston is now in the finals, in a good position to win the title.
Who are the players with whom you have kept in touch?
I still talk to the majority of my former teammates. Not just the Celtics, but other teams I played for. I mean, they’re like my family, my brothers. I continue to follow what Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are doing. Tacko Fall, Steven Adams and Russell Westbrook are like my best friends. For the former Celtics, I’m really happy for them. They’re about to win a title, and experience something super fun.
You mention Jaylen Brown, who is vice president of the players’ union. Do you regret that the players’ union did not sufficiently defend you following your extra-basketball positions?
I find the way they handled the whole situation truly shameful. I think the players union should have protected me more. Because at the end of the day, all I did was talk about human rights violations. It’s not even about politics, it’s about human rights. The players union was afraid of the NBA, and the NBA was afraid of the Chinese government. But you know what ? It’s like that. Such is life. And what I care about today goes beyond basketball, the NBA, and myself. Someone had to sacrifice to raise these issues so that others could live a better life.
Still on the subject of freedom of expression, do you think the NBA is still too silent compared to what is happening in the world today?
Yes. If they think what players talk about outside of basketball could affect their business, then they will do everything they can to silence them. So yes, the NBA is very hypocritical and there is a lot of hypocrisy in this small world, not only in the NBA by the way. This is also the case for equipment manufacturers, since Nike is the league’s biggest sponsor. I also put them in the lot. Everyone knows what Nike is doing in China, notably with the “ sweatshops “. More athletes need to wake up and start holding these organizations accountable.
What achievement are you most proud of since you stopped your basketball career?
Over the past two years, we have created many mandates to request the release of political prisoners. We work with governments around the world to put pressure on dictatorships to release political prisoners. Currently, we are working with the American and Canadian governments, but also others, with this objective. For example, we are putting a lot of pressure on Turkey and the Erdogan regime, because there are human rights violations there, a lot of political prisoners and undemocratic decisions. In the United States, Congress, the Senate and the White House are working together to move forward on this.
What is your goal today, when you get up in the morning?
The first thing that comes to mind is that I think we can use basketball as a tool to connect all the children in the world. Because of the wars and conflicts taking place in the Middle East, in Europe, in America, there are many people who are divided. I think we can use basketball to educate children, because these children will be the future one day. What we want to do is bring all religions together on one court, and so that we can all play basketball together. Muslims, Jews, Christians, all together on a field to play. All these children playing together, they communicate, they have fun, they learn from each other, that’s what makes me happy in the morning. With all this conflict, people hate each other again. I think that with basketball we can solve this problem.
Do you miss basketball?
Of course ! I love basketball, I miss basketball. I’m only 32, I’m still young, healthy…I can still play! But all these things I talked about, it’s bigger than basketball, the NBA, and myself. So I have no regrets.
But, do you still watch the NBA?
Let’s say I support my teammates, I don’t particularly watch the NBA. The NBA is a very hypocritical organization, but my former teammates had nothing to do with these issues.
Photos: Venelles Basket Club – Erwan Le Guilly
2024-06-14 14:20:55
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